And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
(John 14:16-18 NKJ)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

“You Need to Stop Reading So Much!” This admonition was given to me by one of my customers and friends. He cautioned me against being too informed about the things that are being done in the government and the world. He said that I cannot do anything about them, as people are not paying attention. When I responded that this is the problem, he told me that I cannot change this and that I only cause myself trouble by reading so much.

As a Christian I do find his words to be accurate. I am deeply troubled on account of my concern for what ought to be, things that I cannot cause to be. After all, I cannot even make these things to be in my own daily life. Why should I imagine that I can make these things to be in the activities of the world.

As a Christian I continually face the paradoxical existence of both Saint and Sinner within my being. Thus, as a saint I desire the Lord’s righteousness. But as a sinner, I resist Him and His will and His ways and turn from trusting Him to seeking to do for Him what only He can do.

Yet as a saint, I do also have an inborn caring and concern for the welfare of all. Tyranny and terrorism and war and murder and abortion and child abuse and divorce and spouse abuse and GMOs and processed glutamates and processed aspartic acid and a host of other toxins added to foods and water as well as limitless evils in the world, these all concern me. I often want to speak out concerning these.

Yet how far can such efforts reach? Moreover, to what degree do such concerns fall to me?

The Lord does give directives in this regard. He directs each of us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and to trust that all other things He will see to as well.

Then He also directs each of us to fulfill the duties or responsibilities of our own vocations. Sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, pastors and teachers, farmers and ranchers, employers and employees, citizens and officials, we each have vocations that bind us to specific responsibilities that are easily perceived. Of these vocations, some are to be counted as foremost, with others being subordinated to these.

For example, fatherhood is above citizen or even pastor or government official. Mother is above teacher or employee or employer. Daughter is above student or student body president.

It seems that Christians frequently forget the proper order and turn things around. I certainly do. Sadly, I believe that my blog posts often are a reflection of this. My daily management of my time reflects this. How I serve my wife as her husband surely reflects this.

God has blessed me to be a husband. This is my primary vocation. I also am a son and a brother. I also am a son-in-law and brother-in-law. I also am a friend. I also am a pastor. I also am a businessman/arborist. Husband and head of house both bodily and spiritually is the highest earthly honor and responsibility that God has given me.

It is a great blessing and I will do well to remember this and treat it with the appropriate honor. Then the blessings attached to all things in my life will be received as the Lord has graciously ordained and godly contentment will rule my life. God grant this. Amen.

Hollywood took this and used it in the Mission Impossible TV series and then the Movie series. In this story line IMF stands for Impossible Mission Force, where the special mission team performs covert missions on behalf of the shadow rulers of the world. Their missions are impossible in nature and yet they heroically complete the missions, with the common folk never knowing.

Would the common folk accept this impossible imposition of taxation without the many years of covert activity of the IMF? Did the common folk elect the IMF to control the world's monetary instruments? Do the decisions of the IMF ever require approval from the common people?

What is the effect of such taxation? Even if this exorbitant tax rate is imposed only upon business owners and the so-called wealthy, does this not cause even more inflation of prices of common goods and services? If so, who then really bears the brunt of these taxes? Is it not the common laborer who already struggles to purchase goods and services at the already unaffordable prices?

Friday, December 13, 2013

In the embedded video in the previous post, nearing the latter part, questions from reporters were allowed. The second question and especially the answer given should be heard over and over. Here is that snippet.

While it seems unlikely that the Councilwoman meant for this statement to reveal the actual mentality of the Council, sometimes things just come out from the heart without restraint.

Perhaps repeating the snippet five times was overdoing it a bit. However, it does demonstrate how annoying and disheartening it is to hear this from them ad nauseam. We hear this in their speeches, in their actions, and in the bills and taxes.

In our latest bill from the City of Wichita for our water usage is this flyer: H2O-flyer-PDF

Front view:

Back view:

Here is the City of Wichita video presenting the deep compassion of this new program:

At 1:28 in this video the presenter says:

It is so important to me, especially after the last water bill raise.

In the opening portion of the video she says:

This month, the City of Wichita City Council approved a new program, known as the Help2Others, H2O, Care Fund. It provides a way for people to make donations, so that others in our community can keep their water on. As you know, this has been an ongoing problem for the last year or two.

Over the last few years I have called to complain about the outrageous increases. With each increase was another excuse.

The last time that I called can you guess the answer that I was given?

I was told that the City is punishing us for using water.

This is UN Agenda 21 being implemented without actually acknowledging it.

Yes, this has been an ongoing problem. With one of the rate hikes we were told that it was because we had not used enough water.

Yes, the City claimed that it could not meet the Water Department’s budget because people had conserved too efficiently. So the City raised the rates to steal more money from us. If less water is used, so also less cost is demanded of the corporation called “The City of Wichita.” But they are seeking to make money, not merely to meet budgets.

Now they are spending money on a program and its propaganda, to urge citizens to give compassionately for the poor people whom the City Council has broken financially.

Surely we should be deeply moved by the compassionate approval of this program.

What fools we are. We have allowed them to raise our rates endlessly, with truly asinine excuses that change with the wind.

What has happened to all of the increased revenue? Where has it gone? Why do the City Council members not simply use these excess funds to help those whom they have broken?

Why do the people of Wichita continue to allow such frauds to hold office and to abuse the populace?

. . .

Perhaps the more pertinent question is “Why do I continue to imagine that attempting to call people to be aware with the hope of action on their part is a worthwhile venture?”

Twice we voted down the building of an undersized arena in the downtown area. Twice they put it on the ballot and we said “NO!” Then they told us that they were building it anyway and that they would make us pay for it, putting on the ballot two choices as to how we would allow them to steal our money. Our sales tax rate was increased as a result.

They continue such abuses and they continue in office.

They raise our water usage rates because we don’t use enough water. They raise our rates because we use too much water. They raise our rates because the rates are too low. They raise our rates without justification several times. They raise our rates to help pay to pump river water into the aquifer. They raise our rates because they want to raise our rates.

Now they want us to raise our rates voluntarily!

The truly disheartening reality is that people will do it.

Even more disheartening is the realization that people will believe that this money will be used to help others.

How soon after this will the next non-voluntary water rate increase be implemented?

Well let me ask you a couple of questions. Are you currently on medicare?

Uh, no. I’m not.

OK.

Now let me ask you a question.

(She talks over him asking) Are you on medicaid or looking for medicaide?

We’ll go...You ask me a question, then I’ll ask you a question. How ’bout that?

Sure.

OK. Are you a robot?

No.

Will you say, “I am not a robot”?

(Silence)

Heavy sigh.

This is very much like many overseas customer service encounters, where the so-called customer service representative uses a script from which he or she barely deviates whatsoever. But this is even more annoying and troubling.

The Time NewsFeed article states that their investigation of this included calling the company, Premier Health Plans Inc., and visiting the website. After speaking with several company employees, finally Martin was addressed. They reprort:

Martin also said he would inquire internally about whether Samantha West worked for the company, but would not be able to respond to the request Monday night. TIME will update the story with any additional information he provides.

They additionally report:

UPDATE: As of Dec. 11, one day after this story published, the phone number listed above was no longer answered by Samantha West. Rather, it diverted callers to a busy signal. Also the website, premierhealthagency.com, had been taken offline.

Sadly, the National Do Not Call Registry no longer seems to be enforced.

I have challenged many telemarketers regarding this law and many have not even heard of it.

The NSA and other government agencies are so prolific in their spying activities directed at US citizens, and the complications of the Affordable Care Act and the NDAA and the Patriot Act and the host of Presidential Executive orders quite effectively make any laws for the protection of the private citizens nothing more than showpieces.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Today my wife and I celebrate our survival of twenty-one years together as husband and wife.

Yesterday she was astonished to realize that she had forgotten our wedding anniversary until yesterday. She shared this with me and I was startled to realize that while I thought of it all last month and even most of last week, that it had disappeared from my thoughts that day as well.

Ouch! What a powerful reminder of our dysfunctional ways on account of our frailty as sinful humans!

On the other hand, it also serves as a powerful reminder of who has joined us as one and who it is that preserves us as one.

How I wish that I lived in full acknowledgment of the man and husband that the Lord has made me to be by His gracious decree. My life surely does not serve as a witness to His gracious gifts and promises. My faithfulness to my wife is sadly lacking. Thankfully, it is not my faithfulness that matters. Thankfully, she knows this, too.

As a concluding portion of our wedding worship service, I shared this promise and confession:

My dear bride, Stephanie,

Today I have made to you a very bold promise, to be to you a true and faithful husband. This promise I do not make in my own name, for I know that on the basis of my own name I am but a bum. But I also bear another Name, the Name of my Lord Christ, and in His Name I am a prince. And so, in the Name of my Lord Christ I will be to you your prince.

I have been true to my word. By my own name and efforts I have been a bum. I cannot even number the ways in which I have failed my bride as her husband. I certainly have not been faithful in forsaking all others besides the Lord. How many times have I put myself and my desires and my emotions above her? How many times have I selfishly enumerated her shortcomings? How many times have I counted as shortcomings her personal needs of body, heart, mind, and spirit?

Thanks be to God that she remembers the latter part of my promise. Thanks be to God that she counts me as a good and loving and faithful husband not because of what I say and do, but because of the Lord’s gracious decree.

And this is what she continually reminds me as what she counts as the reason for me being a blessing in her life. She reminds me that as her husband and also as her pastor I direct her the Lord and his grace, mercy, and peace. She does count me as a prince for His sake.

What a wonderfully refreshing reminder this serves us regarding Christ and His Church. What we observe Him doing for us is what He does for His beloved bride. In fact, what He does for us flows directly from what He does for His dear bride. This is what St. Paul blessedly proclaims in Ephesians 5:21-33.

The Lord’s goodness is displayed in everything, and especially in the one-flesh union of His Church that is reflected in our one-flesh union that we celebrate this day. Truly it is a happy and blessed anniversary!

I wandered to a site that I rarely visit anymore and observed a video presentation entitled My Squishy Unity Jesus. In this presentation the Reverend Pastor Fisk in his usual less than reverent style speaks to the issue of the Twentieth Century Ecumenical Movement as it has progressed to the present day. He addresses the issue that the concept of unity has been redefined to mean the exact opposite of what the Scriptures teach that the unity of the Church is.

He makes valid points concerning the invalidity of this altered definition. He makes valid points concerning what unity really is and why it is necessary. He attempts to call those who profess to be Christian to embrace the unity that the Holy Spirit creates through the means of grace.

It continues to perplex me that men such as the Reverend Pastor Fisk make such a big deal out of something that they themselves do not truly believe. After all, if they truly believed the marks of the Church to be the administration of the pure means of grace and if they truly believed that unity in the doctrine and practice of these to be necessary for the existence of the true Church and for the salvific power of the Gospel to be effected, would they not actually practice in accord with this unity?

Yet they remain in a church body that teaches that true unity in doctrine and practice and mission do not exist within that church body. Even more amazingly, they pride themselves for embracing the notion that striving to achieve 85% unity is a noble goal that is achievable.

If unity in doctrine and practice concerning the pure Gospel and Sacraments is the definition of the true Church, as Fisk claims to believe, then what is he and his brethren really saying of their own church body?

Fisk continually says on his site that he believes and unconditionally subscribes with a quia subscription to the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as found in the Book of Concord. Of these Confessions or statements of belief and practice the Augsburg Confession is especially set forward. And this Confession states the definition of the Church in Article VII, saying of what the “Lutherans” teach:

1] Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

2] And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and 3] the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. 4] As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4, 5, 6.

It would be cause for rejoicing if this were truly what Christians believed, taught, confessed, AND practiced.

How many Churches does AC VII teach? ONE.

There are not many Churches but One Church.

This Church is holy, which means sacred or set apart by the Lord unto Himself to be perfect even as He is perfect. This perfection of the Church is not found as perfection of the individuals but in the perfection of the Lord. He gives His perfection through His means of grace. The perfect holiness of the Church is its unity of doctrine and practice, that is, in its unity as “the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”

How wonderful it would be if Pastor Fisk and his fellow pastors and the leaders of his church body actually believed this so as to abide by it. How wonderful it would be if they actually believed this so that they rejected the notion of 85% and actually embraced the unity in which the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the true believers in Christ.

Sadly, this is not their way. It is heart-breaking to observe what they hold high in place of this unity. It is gut wrenching to observe the thing that matters most, as this video yet again displays at the very end:

This sentiment truly is the issue at hand. St. Paul addresses this concerning his former idolatry from which the Lord converted and saved him.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. (Philippians 3:1-7)

And again:

But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. (Galatians 1:11-16)

While loyalty to Grandpa remains the defining nature of membership and participation in a church body, to whom are such devotees ultimately devoted? Whose word and way ultimately defines that church and the life and way of its members?

This is a very dangerous matter. It leads away from the true unity of the one true faith and the life that flows from that faith. It leads to the inevitable dysfunction that sin produces. If the church is Grandpa’s church, then it bears Grandpa’s image and suffers Grandpa’s imperfection and corruption.

This is not the Church confessed in the Augsburg Confession. AC VII confesses one holy Church that is united not by the traditions of men/grandpas, but united in the agreement concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the right administration the Sacraments.

Grandpa is rotting in the grave awaiting the day of the resurrection and the judgment of mankind. That is where he should be left until the great day of the return of the Lord Jesus in His glory. Leave sinful Grandpa and draw near to the Lord of glory who comes to His Church wherever the means of grace are rightly administered. Wherever this is the way, the Church is truly united in the Lord’s holiness. No disunity remains in this Church. No dysfunction surfaces. For the unity of doctrine and practice rule this Church, as the Lord has promised.

Oh that this would be what is proclaimed in place of Grandpa and us and our church. Then all of our squishy ways would be replaced by the Rock solid foundation of the means through which God Himself solidifies His Church. His gifts are 100% pure and where they are administered in this purity the congregation is gathered into the absolute unity that belongs to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The ultimate earthly expression and confession of this is the Supper of His Holy Communion.

Yet in the comments to my post, an anonymous commentator calling himself “Christian” calls for references. In the right sidebar of my blog I also supply various links to other sites that provide a multitude of references on this matter as well as mercury poisoning and the vaccination fraud.

I cannot really say anything for certain about the motives of “Christian,” but his manner seems to give a strong indication. The fact that at his Blogger Profile he identifies himself as an atheist, leaves the reader wondering whether “Christian” is really his name or whether it may be a sarcastic attempt at mocking those who have truly been marked with this name. Certainly there are atheists who have come from families who named children as Christian, both as their given name as well as through the sacrament of Baptism. So only this person knows his motive. However, whenever a person hides behind comments given anonymously, not identifying oneself but hiding in the shadows, it limits the reader’s trust severely.

I previously refrained from responding, not desiring to engage in an argument. The facts stand. Arguing them with one who deliberately ignores what is presented is meaningless.

Dave Bachand expressed his frustration with “Christian” saying: “"Never argue with stupid people as they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience".”

However, since some readers could be dissuaded by the false arguments presented by this debater from giving serious consideration to the facts, I will make some responsive points.

Stupidity may not be the issue as much as being misled and misinformed by those who deliberately are promoting disinformation. In his original comment “Christian” said:

I think one of the most important things to realize is that flourine gas is different to flouride. Every chemist would tell you that flourine gas will kill you, but a flouride (a salt) is not always toxic.

Secondly, this Dr Blaylock is also an anti vaccer which goes against all science. Vaccines are safe and people that promote not vaccinating are killing children.

Both of these statements are false.

Regarding the first statement, one needs to consider that not all chemists are biochemists, and thus they approach chemistry from a different perspective. In fact, not all chemists pay much attention to issues of toxicity. But one also needs to understand the difference between toxic and lethal, which “Christian” demonstrates that he has completely ignored. Not all toxins are lethal at low doses. Moreover, virtually any substance can become toxic or even lethal at high enough levels.

Regarding specifically fluoride, one does not need a chemistry degree to know whether or not it is toxic. Just read the warning on any fluoride toothpaste carton. Or you could view these sources that I posted in Drink this!

This product may be fatal if inhaled orswallowed. Irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and skin can result from contact with this product.

Keep away from food

Not toxic? Every chemist would tell you? Really?

These are the chemicals being added to municipal drinking water supplies. Are these warning labels hard to understand? Will every chemist really say that these are false labels and that fluoride is not toxic?

People have indeed been misinformed. But upon seeing these evidences to the contrary of what the propagandists for the globalist agenda have flooded the media, anyone who still insists that fluoride is not toxic and not a genuine concern when added to water, to toothpaste, and the many other places it is used, truly do fall into a category other than misinformed.

Regarding vaccines, “Christian” also gives one very feeble reference to the CDC. He says:

Even the CDC agrees that the minor Hg levels in vaccines are not harmful.http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Concerns/Thimerosal/Index.html

Perhaps this statement is merely more evidence of blind trust. But it really is also a matter of not thinking for oneself.

First of all, to accept what the globalist CDC says without further verification is dangerous. People need to remember who the CDC is and what their stated agenda is. Forced vaccination of the world’s populace is part of their stated agenda. Could that possibly be reason to question their evaluation of mercury in vaccines?

While it seems to have been offered sarcastically, “Christian” gives this word of advice that is worthy of attention:

I also suggest that while you are staying away from vaccines, you stop eating any processed food and taking medicine.

Reading the labels on processed food from an informed perspective will certainly lead a person to agree with this advice about avoiding processed foods.

Also reading the labels on medication containers and the pages of warnings supplied by the pharmacist will lead a person to the same conclusion about medications. They should be avoided as much as is possible, for they are toxic and harmful. Sometimes such things are necessary, but should be avoided as much as is possible. A person becomes especially aware of this when one learns that in many cases there are better, more effective, and safer natural remedies than those that have so many listed side-effects.

Finally, if a person determines that ingesting fluoride and taking vaccines is desirable, then that person is free to pursue this. But it is not right or fair to impose this upon those who have seriously studied this issue and desire not to partake of these things. Moreover, it is wrong to force others to pay for these things against their will.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Dr. Brownstein has an informative article regarding the continual farcical promotion of the Cholesterol myth and statin drug use at New Cholesterol Guidelines: Fugetaboutit. He effectively portrays the methodology of those who use “studies” to deceive the public regarding health matters. He also states the truth about these dangerous drugs and warns people to avoid them. He says concerning this study and the deliberate misuse of it to promote the use of dangerous drugs: “Fugetaboutit.”

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

This has been happening for as long as disposable diapers have been marketed. My first encounter left me aghast, as a teenager working in a supermarket. I would frequently find dirty diapers in the parking lot and on the grocery shelves.

It is hard for me to imagine people having so little self-respect, let alone to have so little respect for others.

Today, when most stores have changing stations in the restrooms, it is even harder to understand such ghastly behavior.

On the other hand, taken in perspective, this is really quite insignificant when contrasted to many other actions commonly observed today. It is really just a symptom of much deeper decay in society.

Monday, October 07, 2013

How does a person respond to deliberate misrepresentation by an attacker? How should one respond to one who takes clear facts and twists them into something other than what they demonstrate in order to hurt the presenter and his reputation?

This is what my friend the Canadian Atheist has done to my presentation of my father’s loving actions that is presented in the post below. He has taken my father’s acts of love, that I clearly presented as acts of love, and has labeled both my father and me as abusive people who should be avoided or even arrested.

His reasons? Prejudice toward religions and especially toward the God of the Bible and those who fear, love, and trust in Him. He is an atheist. As such he wants to eradicate all faith in God. He wants all people to be turned from faith in God to trust in themselves and their governments, and in his religion of his own version of secular humanism. He would like to see all other religions annihilated.

He actively pursues this end, while denying that he seeks this.

So how should one whom he has attacked and tried to label as dangerous respond?

Well, the God whom he rejects, while trying to label his rejection as something more innocuous, says to recognize him as one who has made himself an enemy. He declares that this is necessary so as to know to avoid his attacks, and to recognize him as one who needs forgiveness, love, and prayers on his behalf. The God whom the Atheist rejects says not to return evil for evil, but to do good to all. This God teaches and declares this in both the Old and New Testaments.

The Atheist says of the writers of the Biblical texts: “Don't take the word of men who wrote those texts in a time when the wheelbarrow was considered emerging technology.” Wow! I wonder whether we should treat Pythagoras and his algebraic and geometric writings with this same contempt. Perhaps we should disregard that chariots and various gear driven machines were used by the ancient Egyptians of Moses’ era and even long before.

More importantly, however, we should ponder the message of these men moved by the Holy Spirit. The Atheist says that their message of not seeking vengeance upon those who wrong them is outdated and should be ignored. He says that the preaching of Jesus that we should “Love our enemies and bless them” is dangerous and should not be taught to our children. He says this while he takes the loving actions of my father to protect his young son from danger and twists these actions and says that my father should have been arrested.

I shared in very clear terms that my father was very careful in his demonstration regarding the need to fear the hot stove. My father held his own hand on the burner for two purposes. The first was to guarantee that it would be safe and that no possible harm, bodily or emotionally, would come to his son. Secondly, by holding his own hand on the burner he demonstrated that he could be trusted, even when the immediate reflex would seem to teach otherwise.

As I presented in my post, his lesson was very effective in both regards. I was taught to understand the association of the word “Hot” with heat and with danger. I also was taught to trust my father’s judgment in such matters and to respond to his loving voice and command of warning.

This enabled my father to save my life on multiple occasions. It enable him to steer me clear of many dangerous situations throughout my life.

Every day, hundreds of young children with burn injuries are taken to emergency rooms. They were not even near a flame. The children are victims of scalds.

Clearly, this is a real danger. Scald burns (caused by hot liquids, steam or foods) are the most common burn injury among children age 4 and younger. According to Safe Kids USA, an average of 12 children ages 14 and under die from scald burn injuries each year. Children ages 4 and under account for nearly all of these deaths.

While the injuries and the numbers are distressing, even more disturbing is the fact that many of these burns could have been prevented.

O.K. HUNDREDS of young children with burn injuries are taken to emergency rooms EVERY DAY!

Wow! Doesn’t that sound like FUN?

My father took action to make certain that anyone in the family could turn his children away from such danger with a single word. The Atheist says this is child abuse.

The Atheist also says: “Your children have rights and no parent is an overlord.”

Tell this to a child whose parents drag the child kicking and screaming to receive a vaccination or to the dentist’s office. Tell this to the child who wants to go down the stairs to the basement and the parents block the path with barriers. Tell this to the child who wants to investigate the kitchen cabinet and the parents have installed protective locks. Tell that to the child who is throwing a temper tantrum because TV privileges have been taken away.

As a hospital chaplain in a research hospital I witnessed children whose parents gave consent for their children to be strapped in a bed and denied water and told that they could only receive a tiny dampened sponge on which to suck. I observed young children who cried and screamed every time that a person in a white coat walked past the doorway. I’ve been with children who cried “No. No!”as they received bronchial drainage treatments for cystic fibrosis. I’ve been with children who were crying because they were told that they would have their limbs amputated.

For the sakes of the children, let’s be honest. For the safety of the children, let’s face reality. For the parents’ sakes, let’s not label their loving lordship over their children as criminal activity.

It is quite frightening to realize that social workers with prejudices like these demonstrated by the Atheist have the power to make criminals of parents. He says that my father could have been arrested for his actions. His implication is that he would seek to make this happen today. He points to laws that empower such injustice, where acts that are not abuse are labeled and punished as abuse.

Indeed, parents today face such fears. Over the past year people have also been arrested for handing out free bottles of water to thirsty passers by. People have also been arrested for giving free food to homeless people. Here in Wichita a group was legally prevented from setting up a free meal center for the poor and for the homeless because of prejudice against the poor and homeless who were not wanted in the area. And yes, in each of these instances that I mention, it was people professing to be Christians who faced these legal hindrances.

Future comments will not be allowed apart from an apology for the disgraceful twisting of the truth with hurtful intentions. Any comment other than an apology will be deleted, as these attacks are not helpful, honest, or in any way for the good of others.

What I present on this web site is in the name of the God of Love in accord with what He has revealed in His Holy Scriptures. Those who desire to hear and read of this God and His self-sacrificing actions on behalf of His children will find this doctrine proclaimed here, along with comments about issues facing us all in this world of corruption and sin. No one who does not like God and His written declaration of His will and interaction with mankind, and does not want to hear of Christ and His Church, will not find this site at all to one’s liking.

I desire nothing but good for all. This is what I receive from the Lord my God. This is what I in turn desire for all.

Regarding my earthly father and his dealings with me, no other human being is in a better position to evaluate the goodness of his fatherly care. No one else has a right to judge him with a judgment contrary to what I myself testify concerning his relationship with me. I bear witness to his tireless and self-sacrificing love toward me, love that imitated the love of the Lord to both my father and to me. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and is way out of line.

On two occasions, my dear father expressed his concern about failing as a father. I acknowledged that he had failings, and assured him of both God’s forgiveness as well as ours. I also reminded him of the things of primary importance, all of which he faithfully and consistently fulfilled. I assured him that the things that I and the rest of the family needed most from him he had given to us. I assured him that he was a good father for whom I give thanks to God. I have never declared otherwise to anyone and no one will ever convince me to believe otherwise concerning my father.

For those who did not grow up under such a father, I remind you of the Father of all who loves you more than you can know. I urge you to receive His love through the means by which He makes His love available without limit. If you do not know this and would like to hear of it, I will be very happy to explain it to you.

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

On a friend’s Facebook page, she has expressed the frightening experience of having her child hide from her at bath time. The little boy determined to go outside and hide rather than to join with his little sister for their bath.

Mommy is indeed acting rationally concerning her fear in this regard. Such disobedience in a child is a frightening thing. Without a child’s unwavering obedience, no parent is able to provide protection for one’s child. Obedience is absolutely necessary in the parent and child relationship. This obedience must be instilled in the child through careful discipline or discipling. This requires the parent to act very sternly and powerfully, actions that are emotionally difficult to govern with consistency. But parents are not the child’s peer, nor even buddy. Parents are the overlords of their children, appointed so by the Father of all, for the good of all.

In the case of my friend, I fear that she may have done as many mommies do. She very likely has played hide and seek with her young child. This is a very dangerous game for a parent to play, a game that teaches the child not to obey the voice of the parent when the parent calls. As fun and innocent as this game and many others may seem, they are not proper for parents in which to engage with their children. Parenting is an all encompassing responsibility, one which requires the parent to assume the overlord authority at all times, even in play times.

My father understood this, and was often criticized for his wise fatherly actions. He was not without fault, but he did understand the role of fatherhood and overall was a very good and effective as well as loving father.

I am the firstborn, so my parents were learning much with my arrival under their care. Two experiences are very powerfully ingrained in my memory.

One is when I was very young, I determined that I would visit Grandpa and Grandma Siems, who lived a quarter mile through the woods. So off I went, without a thought of my mother’s frantic response. I climbed onto my little tricycle with its 12 inch drive wheel and 4 inch rear wheels and began to make my way through the sugar sand and palmettos and briars and rattlesnakes to my grandparents’ house. I do not remember how many hours this took me.

When Mom finally arrived she was frantic. I do not know whether they called her or even how long I was gone. Mom was both frantic and furious, as I remember. But I had not yet been disciplined in the way of informing my mom and asking permission for such ventures. I remember Grandma coming to my defense till Mom calmed down. For I had not been deliberately disobedient. I simply had not yet been properly discipled. This was a learning experience for us all, and I am sure that I received intense instruction after this, though I don’t really remember that part.

What I do know for certain is that the 4th Commandment, “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth.” is deep seated in my personhood. I also know that this was not driven into me, but was born in me so that it fills me as it flows from the first three commandments. True fear, love, and trust in God is the beginning of all right understanding for life. True honor of parents cannot be taught apart from this. The mechanics of the Fourth Commandment can be effected without fear, love, and trust in God, but not the natural flow of true and genuine honor of parents.

The other experience that I remember, not so much from my own remembrance, but because it was told to me several times, is the time that I encountered a nine foot diamond back rattlesnake as a toddler. This huge viper was slithering after a covey of quail in the front yard when I saw it and began toddling toward it saying “Pretty snake. Pretty snake.”

Grandpa and Grandma Heumann, Aunt Esther, and Mom were all yelling “No Paul. Stop! Come back!” When Dad heard the commotion, he came running, and flying out the front door he yelled, “Paul! HOT!” Upon hearing this I immediately turned and came back to the safety of my loving overlords.

Some time previously, Dad had astonished the rest of the family by teaching me to fear the electric stove. He placed his hand on the burner, turned the knob to warm and waited for it to become uncomfortable, took my little hand and placed it on the burner crying, “HOT!” The others thought this to be terrible, but he wanted his little boy to be safe. He wanted his little boy to stay away from anything that was declared to be HOT.

I share this to demonstrate that true love does not always bear the outward appearance that people expect. True love sometimes appears hard and harsh and intolerant. True parenting requires wisdom in knowing what true love demands.

The best way for parents to learn this is to observe the one who Himself is Love, the Father of all. He has provided for us a written accounting of His interaction with His children. He has given us this so that we may know Him as our loving Father, and so that we may learn from Him the form that true love takes.

We have the complication of our sinfulness that interferes with this understanding and blurs our perspective. Thus we always must hold our actions to the accounting of the Commandments, by which we see where we fall short and need to have our ways amended. But even the Commandments fall short in that they only show us what should be, as they show us how God is as the one who is truly holy and righteous. The Commandments cannot be taken as stand alone directives. They must be understood in the light of the Gospel, which shows how God gives the Commandments for our instruction, but also shows that He is the one who fulfills all righteousness for us. He does not demand that we make ourselves righteous through striving to obey the Commandments. Rather, He makes us righteous as He joins us to the merits of Jesus, who has fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf. He applies this to us through Baptism and the Holy Supper. There we encounter His righteousness and are made to be partakers of Him and His righteousness.

This is what parents need to realize about the responsibilities that God has given to them. They are to do similarly to their loving Father. They are to live the sanctified life of their baptism so that their children receive this as their own. As the parents fear, love, and trust in God and live lives that flow from this, so their children do also. They learn God’s love through the loving actions and lordship of their parents.

It took 3 seconds to overturn the brainwashing effects of the suggestion. This image is designed to convince the person that this is an enormous task, even impossible.

After my mind rejected this, in second 4 I thought of “are.”

OK. Four seconds. I felt very pleased with myself.

Then I thought, “What’s so brilliant about this?” Its really no big deal at all.

Surely there are many such words. Then I thought, “Are there really MANY such words? Of course there are.”

ArealoeAbeateaceaxeablealchemizeattireattitudeaxleangleankle

Then I clicked on the graphic image to go to the link and to see what others did.

I was shocked at the enormous number of people who listed the profane “a..h...” as their first word.

I felt relieved that this word did not even occur to me. I felt very relieved.

Thanks be to God that He filled my mind with better thoughts.

I certainly cannot take credit, as I confess being ashamed of the many times that I have used that word, especially while driving.

As I consider this, I immediately realize the thanks that are due to the Holy Spirit for keeping me from using far worse words, far more shameful words.

Truly the Holy Spirit is a wonderful counselor. How actively He participates in the life of a Christian is immeasurable. Truly this is cause to pause in deep awe and to continue in everlasting thanksgiving.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

While the first image does not say the same as the second, such remembrance leads to the same in many if not even in all instances. Remembering the wrong done and the loss incurred ultimately leads to anger and resentment and eventually even hatred.

We humans do not have the capability of erasing such things from our memories. We can suppress them or avoid them or ignore them. We can try to bury them with busyness and other thoughts. But we are designed to remember. Our contacts and encounters are stored permanently in our memories.

However, we do not have to dredge up our memories. We do not have to make them our point of focus.

Furthermore, at least for those who are regenerated into God’s Holy Communion in Christ, we have the gift of Forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not equal forgeting.

Forgiveness is the disassociation of those who are forgiven from their sinful actions.

This is how the Lord says concerning this matter:

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)

How is it that the omniscient God who knows all and remembers all is able to say that He will remember His forgiven ones’ sins no more? It is because He has taken their guilt and made it His own and paid the price of redemption Himself.

As a good friend frequently reminds me, guilt is not a feeling, it is an accounting term, a legal accounting term. Guilt is not merely a feeling that accompanies awareness of wrongdoing. Guilt is the accounting that binds a person to the wrongs that have been done. It is the pronouncement of an unpayable debt. Redemption from guilt can only be paid by one who is free of such debt, one who has no guilt, one who has committed no wrong.

This is what God has done for sinners. He took the sin of the world and declared the entire world to be guiltless in Christ. This does not mean that people are guilt free apart from Christ. Only in Christ is this declaration valid. The justification that God has accomplished for all is IN Christ. God applies this declaration to individuals through Baptism, baptism into Christ.

In this way God divorces individuals from their unrighteousness and marries them to His own righteousness in Christ. Therefore, for all who are in Christ, there remains no condemnation. Thus, for all who are in Christ, He remembers their sin no more, for He has set them free from their sin so that it is no longer accounted as theirs.

So what does it profit a person to cling to the memory of their lost loved ones? Surely we will remember. Surely various dates will cause us to remember them and what gifts they have been to us and in many ways continue to be to us. Surely we will remember the wisdom taught to us by parents and grandparents and other teachers. Surely we will rejoice in such remembrance. But what value is remembrance that recalls grief and perpetuates the sense of loss?

There is truly only one such remembrance that serves us profitably. That is the continual remembrance of our loss of accountability for our sin, the loss effected for us in our baptism and continually renewed for us in Christ’s Holy Supper. Through these our identification of guilty ones has been taken from us and replaced with identification with the name of Jesus, the holiness of God. In Him we rejoice in remembering this great and wonderful loss, a loss that is everlasting profit and blessing to us.

This morning as I was preparing for my day with prayer and hymns alongside of contemplating planning for my workday and responsibilities, after checking a weather forecast I also visited a Christian/Lutheran site and was reminded that today is the anniversary of the 09-11-2001 events. I occasionally visit this blog to see what is presented. Here is a snapshot of today’s posting and the previous post.

As I observed this my heart felt distressed. I wondered which of the two is really what is being practiced during this Fifteenth Week after Trinity by those professing to be Christians.

I do realize that with this particular choice of images that the blogger’s motives and intended conveyance could be that Christians should remember those who suffered from this incidence of worldly violence and wickedness so as to be moved to pray for those who suffered as well as for those who committed this great wickedness. Certainly this is to put the best construction on the intentions behind the use of this image.

But is this in any way indicated by the blogger? Is this at all what is commonly understood by “Never Forget”?

A Google Internet search produced this compilation of images. There appears to be a plethora of images produced concerning the sentiments and beliefs of people regarding the 9-11-01 events and the information disseminated by the government and media agencies.

Ultimately, however, what real advantage lies in remembrance of this day? Who truly benefits from it?

If we stand back and divorce ourselves from the emotional impact of whatever is perceived regarding 9-11-01, what has been the result of propagating remembrance of this? What things have been pursued in connection with “remembering”?

The bottom line is the point of concern. With this image is expressed a great and horrible world-view, one that perpetuates itself and brings endless abuse, suffering, and grief.

“I learned on 9/11/01. Never Forget!!

Never Forgive!! Enough Said.”

Is this not the prevailing mindset and sentiment of those who say: “Never Forget”?

I certainly am not a defender of the religion of Islam. I believe it to be a great evil in the world. I believe that it enslaves people to a false god who hides his true identity, demanding to be called “the merciful” without any example of mercy demonstrated. He demands to be embraced as the one who “oft forgives” without showing forgiveness. He does not redeem but demands sacrifice. He demands war against all of mankind, not in defense but to conquer by brute force.

This is the way of sinful mankind. This is the way taught by their father, who has promoted disruption and deception and murder from the beginning. This is the way of the sinful nature in which all men are conceived and born.

But this is not the way of the Lord. This is not what He espouses or commands. This is not the way of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.

His way is the way of forgiveness from the heart. His way is to pray for one’s enemies. His way is the way of the cross, bearing the shame of sinful mankind, offering forgiveness and life in exchange.

The Lord is merciful. His command to His people is that they should not act vengefully.

For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (Hebrews 10:30)

Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left. (Deuteronomy 32:34-36)

Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:16-21)

This concept is entirely foreign to the sinful nature. Sadly, very few who profess to be Christian truly understand this either.

Thus, the vengeance of the Lord is often preached to the opposite end of what He Himself declares. His judgment is turned upside down and inside out. He Himself explains it very plainly.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:14-21)

What is the Lord’s recompense for evil? What does the Lord mean by saying that vengeance belongs to Him?

He shows us from the cross. On the cross He punishes wickedness in His own body and soul. Having taken the flesh of humanity, having taken the sin of the world into Himself, He took vengeance for all of the wickedness and evil of all time. He paid the vengeance price with His own suffering and death, His own rejection by the authorities and the religious leaders and the people and mankind. He took the world’s condemnation and cried out in His suffering: FORGIVE!

We find this as His declared will already in Genesis. He reiterates it endlessly throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, again in the New Testament Scriptures.

Yet the Lord is not blind to the daily struggles that mankind faces in this world of sin. As a true Father, He does provide measures to help curb these so that evil does not completely obliterate His creation, especially for the sake of Man. Thus He does speak of various temporal forms of punishment against wickedness in the world. He does provide rulers, all of whom are sinful and therefore do not follow His will fully, often even with great wickedness of their own. Yet through them He does limit and curb overall chaos. This also is referred to as vengeance, which finds its ultimate display in the suffering and death of Jesus as well.

For the Lord and His household of faith, the continual cry of the heralds is: FORGIVENESS!

Forgiveness for all!

Sadly, most refuse this forgiveness and continue in their unbelief or self-defined beliefs. Either way the result is the same, they turn the Lord’s forgiveness into something else. They hinder themselves and others from rightly perceiving the will of the Lord. Thus many view Christendom as nothing more than another worldly abuse, as a house of hypocrites and hate.

But that is not the way of Christendom. The true Church of Christ is all about forgiveness and restoration and the love of God in Christ.

The Remembrance of the true Church is that proclaimed with the eating and drinking of the body and blood of the Lord, where it is His Remembrance that is shown and taught and proclaimed till He comes. It is as with the Old Testament Passover, where the Lord says that the blood is a sign unto Himself so that He Passes Over His redeemed. He made the same declaration concerning the rainbow, that it was sign to Himself never again to destroy the world by a flood.1 His signs then also serve us, as we see that He is true to His promises to do as He has promised. In His Church of the New Testament He has replaced circumcision with Baptism, the Passover with His Supper, and the various sacrifices with the divine liturgy and Confession and Absolution.

Those who receive and practice these as He has ordained them, without reinterpreting them, without redefining them, without adulterating and compromising them, they are the true Church. Within this true Church forgiveness, mercy, grace, and peace reign. These are what the true Church teaches the saints to hear and to remember so that they may continue in the new life into which they have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

The true Church has always been a tiny remnant. False representatives and false churches have filled the earth so that very few ever know the joys of God’s Holy Communion. But where the pure means of grace are administered, there the true saints are congregated by the Lord to Himself and they are continually renewed in Him. Thus they are moved to act in conformity with what He restores in them. As He forgives, so they also forgive. As He remembers His promise not to call to His remembrance their sins and wickedness, so they demonstrate to those who do them wrong.

So, if Christians are moved to Remembrance on this day of great calamity twelve years ago, let this be their remembrance, their preaching, their teaching, their confession, and their practice.

The peace of God to all in Christ Jesus!

__________

1 The flood was used to save Noah and his family from obliteration from those who had turned from fearing the Lord to their own ways. The promised Seed and Salvation was to come through Noah. As the last believer and preacher of faith in the Lord on earth, he and his family would have faced the same persecution as is being demonstrated today. They would have been killed and Jesus would not have been born to save the world. After the flood, God declared that this means of preventing the extinction of His people would not be repeated. We see the fulfillment of this when unbelievers began to organize at the tower of Babel to establish a one-world-order by which they intended to raise themselves over mankind. At Babel the Lord disrupted their wicked intentions by means of the confusion of their languages so that they dispersed and desisted their works of establishing themselves as gods over the rest mankind. Although they continued in their unbelief and wickedness, nevertheless they were halted from their united efforts against the Lord and His plan of salvation.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Signs such as this one illustrate boldly the effects and affects of homophobia upon society. The original of this photo is at D'Avid RC's Photos.

This photo shows the extreme cleverness and deceptive power of the methods used in this society changing agenda. The fact that this is a very deliberately orchestrated agenda is so in-your-face that most people do not even recognize it as an agenda. Rather, most people have come already to accept it as the norm rather than an overthrow of the norm.

The very term of homophobia has been presented in a deceptive manner. A term describing a natural and normal reaction to a dangerous and destructive behavioral pattern and choice has been repeatedly and endlessly presented as something to be abhorred and avoided. The natural reaction that people have to something that they instinctively perceive as dangerous and aberrant from the natural order of life has been presented as an irrational and unhealthy reaction.

Yet the facts of life remain unchanged. The facts of nature stand against all of the attempts to deny them.

The fact is that humanity has a natural awareness of the dangers of the totally unnatural perversions of the natural order. Choosing to act in opposition to the natural order does present both obvious and subtle dangers. And to have a phobia or fear of things that cause danger is not only normal and natural, but also healthy and proper.

Imagine the reaction that would be observed from people if a father were known to teach his children that they need not to be afraid of sticking their hands under a running lawn mower. Imagine the public outcry that would result if a kindergarten teacher were known to teach the children that they should not be wary of the advancement of strangers. Yet these same teachers are now required to use curricula that teach the children to accept diversity and not to fear aberrant lifestyle choices, choices that do have undeniable dangers associated with them.

It has and continues to be frequently presented that the homosexual agenda merely seeks the safety of homosexuals to enact their life choices privately without fear of consequences from so-called homophobes. But this is a blatant lie. While some homosexuals merely desire not to be judged and not to be attacked and simply desire to be left alone, this is not the agenda presented publicly. The homosexual agenda is to force the rest of society to change so as to accept this aberration as normal and to allow it to be promoted as an alternative to the natural order of life. This agenda has as its objective the use of legislation to force people to accept the sexual deviations as normal and to allow these deviations to be presented to children as alternatives to what both nature and their parents teach them.

Within this agenda is included the doctrine that homosexuality is not a choice but how those with these unnatural urges are born. Some actually go as far as to call it a genetically inherited trait. And while there are some children who are born with both forms of genitalia, it is absurd to claim that this is normal or even inherited. This is a genetic aberration.

It also is true that some children are born with personalities that demonstrate more or less femininity or masculinity. This is indeed normal, but not truly genetic. It may be inherited, but at a level far more powerful than the genes. Regardless, this is not the same as being born a homosexual. Rather, this is simply the diverse range of emotional composition of people’s personalities.

There is no doubt that females are born with emotions and patterns of thinking that are more feminine and males with more masculine. But within both sexes there is a naturally occurring wide range of expression of these traits. Again, this does not make a person more or less of a homosexual.

However, people do become confused regarding their own understanding of their own emotions. Most especially people can become confused regarding the difference between philos and eros, that is, the difference between affection and sexual attraction. At the emotional level these are very closely related, so closely that they are often thought to be the same. But they are different. Actually, they are very different, yet also similar.

Most people, without being taught the difference, think that peanuts are nuts. But peanuts are legumes, which have many similarities with nuts, but also are truly very different.

Philos and eros both are emotions, and very powerful emotions. Both include a powerful sense of being attracted to another person. But the two are very different, even though they are often confused as being the same. For example, it is perfectly natural for two men to experience philos for one another. This is not a sexual attraction, even though this philos may move them to embrace one another intimately, even with a kiss. This is not sexual. However, it can easily be mistaken as a sexual emotion. Likewise, it is perfectly natural for a man and a woman to experience eros for one another, being attracted to one another sexually. This leads to reproduction of the human race. Philos and eros do naturally occur together in such a relationship. They are naturally paired in the sexual relationship of husband and wife. These two emotions lead to the union of husband and wife and the formation of a stable family. This is the natural order. This is called marriage.

Such a union or marriage cannot occur between two people of the same sex. Yet the homosexual agenda is to force the rest of society to deny this fact. The homosexual agenda seeks to use the law to force the rest of society to accept what is clearly unnatural and even impossible.

The human anatomy and physiology teach the facts of life. Marriage of two human beings of the same sex is simply impossible. It cannot occur. It is unnatural to try to make it so. No matter how many times two women pretend to have sexual relations with one another, or two men with each other, this is not true sexual union. Living together in this pretense does not constitute marriage. It is like the old saying of trying to make a square peg fit a round hole. The two can be forced together, but not in a true fit according their actual design. Forcing such a union does severe injury to both and changes both into something other than what they truly are.

Yet the homosexual agenda is to force this activity upon the rest of society. The homosexual agenda demands that the rest of society accept this unnatural and brutal change of sexuality and of society itself.

This agenda also seeks to mute the truth regarding the dangers of this aberrant sexual activity. This agenda seeks to force society to ignore the truth of the dangers created by this But the dangers are real. Ignoring them does not make them less dangerous, but more dangerous.

It is difficult if not impossible to list all of the dangers, let alone to prioritize them according to levels of danger. However, in this discussion, health dangers will be mentioned first.

The most obvious of the health dangers are the STDs or the Sexually Transmitted Diseases. These are not the only health dangers, but certainly seem to be the most obvious. The dangers of STDs accompany any sexual promiscuity, but are especially identified with same sex sexual activity. For this reason both the United Blood Services and the American Red Cross list criteria for eligibility to donate blood. As is listed especially on the American Red Cross web site, the policy for rejecting donations from homosexuals is an FDA policy. Here is a snapshot of that information:

As is mentioned, the homosexual agenda pursues the elimination of such safeguards and there are people who speak out as if this were in some way unfair. Yet it seems unlikely that these same people when undergoing surgery or other cause for blood transfusion would demand of their doctor that blood from a homosexual be administered. It is always easy to speak of these things in the abstract, but when the danger hits home, the person’s perspective often returns to the norm.

There are other health and physical dangers connected with homosexual activity, but for now, the one of the dangers to society will be presented. Healthy societies have always had a clear definition for family. This is both natural and necessary for a society to function with good order and minimal obstructions. While polygamy has been practiced throughout history, one man and one woman nevertheless has prevailed. The difficulties of multiple spouses in a family have always instructed people that one man and one woman is both the most practical and functional. From the maternal side of this, children always gravitate to acknowledge only one mother. Where more than one mother is the practice, rivalry always develops both between the wives as well as between the various children.

But homosexuality never produces family. Never. In order for homosexuals to obtain children, they must obtain them from a breakdown in the societal norm of healthy man/woman-husband/wife family structure. Either through the breakdown by adultry/fornication, or by divorce, or by death of parents, or by abandonment by parents, the normal societal family and reproduction functions must be broken in order for homosexuals to obtain children. This is not normal. This is not healthy.

Moreover, children cannot learn from two of the same sex the normal and natural order of familial structure and interaction. They cannot learn the proper distinction of philos and eros from such an arrangement. Therefore they are cheated of this normal childhood development. Society is damaged as these children grow and struggle to know their proper place in society. Ultimately the society breaks down from this unnatural ignorance of the natural order.

Much more can be said in these matters, but now the hypocrisy displayed in the so-called church sign seems to be appropriate. Here again is the photo:

First of all, notice the hypocrisy of this church judging others for what they themselves have and do promote, that is, the acceptance of divorce and remarriage. This church has long been known to undermine the concept of the sanctity of marriage, not only regarding the homosexual issue, but regarding promiscuity and divorce as well. So for this church to point fingers at those they have excused for marrying, divorcing, and remarrying in an endless cycle is the highest hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy amongst those professing to be godly certainly is not a new occurrence. It can be traced to the very first couple. It manifested itself horrifically in the life of their first son. It was manifested amongst the people of Israel. Jesus denounced it during His ministry amongst the Jews. His apostles denounced it in their ministries. The only man never to demonstrate hypocrisy is Jesus. All the rest of us must confess our own hypocrisy and seek to hear God’s absolution. Only with this honest self-evaluation can we move forward with godly and healthy lives. Only abiding in the grace of the Lord can we judge ourselves rightly and then interact in holy, godly, and healthy ways with our fellow man.

It is not the Christian’s place to make oneself judge over others. It is, however, the Christian’s place to speak the truth in love. This does include speaking the judgement that has already been declared by the Judge of all, speaking this judgment with the holy desire that honest confession of people’s sinfulness and need of God’s forgiveness and restoration result. Ignoring the truth about people’s sinfulness is not love. It is not even kind. Moreover, such ignorance is in itself judgment of the worst kind. For this deliberate ignorance of the needs of others is a judgment by which people are judged to be unworthy of such caring and love and effort.

Sadly, most Christians falsely imagine that they have been called by God to legislate morality and godliness. But the way to which the Lord calls His saints is the way of Agape. It is the way of His love in action. His way is the way of speaking the truth in love so that people hear the truth and are confronted with it for their well-being. His way is to call people to acknowledge His holiness and to be moved to desire for Him to work this in them through the means of grace that He has already ordained to be administered in His Church on earth.

The sanctity of marriage cannot be enacted by law. Certain protections for family and marriage can be enacted by law, so as to protect married couples and their families from certain intrusions and abuses by both government and society, but the sanctity of marriage cannot be established nor enforced by law.

On this point, the hypocritical statement in the photo of the church sign does make a true inference. For it is true that one hypocrite cannot enforce the sanctity of anything upon another hypocrite. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit, who works through the means of grace to convert hypocrites into true believers, who thereby follow His urging to live in accord with the will of God that has been taught to them in their regenerated hearts and souls and minds.

Thus, while the statement in the sign has the appearance of hypocritical motivation, it does nevertheless point to the truth that each person should be first concerned with one’s own sanctification. If such a person gives the due attention to this concern, very little time or energy will remain for pretending to be God and judging others. Rather, such people will embrace one another within the Holy Communion ordained by the Lord, calling to one another saying, “Let us return again to the Lord to partake of His grace through His ordained means that we may indeed enjoy His mercy, love, and holiness together.”

Monday, July 22, 2013

The Lord has showered His blessed rain upon our unjust land according to His merciful grace yet again. Earlier this past week we received about 1 1/2 inches and another 1/4 inch this morning.

The Lord promises that He sends His rain both upon the just and the unjust. Thankfully, even this statement is one of pure grace, for no one is truly just except by the Lord's declared righteousness imputed to those who have been generated into His kingdom of righteousness through Baptism.

How wonderful this association is, that with this statement concerning His gracious outpouring of life giving water from the heavens to refresh the earth for both the just and the unjust, so also this reminds us of His gracious outpouring of life anew in His kingdom through Water and Spirit. In Titus 3 St. Paul calls this a bath or washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. And for the soul that hungers for the Lord's righteousness, this is refreshment indeed!

About Me

I am an Evangelical Lutheran pastor who earns his living as an arborist. I own my own small tree company, All Tree, and operate in Wichita, KS. I list Arborist before Pastor under Occupation because I earn my living as an arborist but my vocation is that of Pastor. I am an arborist because I take care of trees, but I am a pastor because proclaiming the Gospel of Christ crucified is my life. I can choose to stop trimming trees, but to stop proclaiming the Gospel would be to stop breathing.
Web sites for business and congregation are:
[All Tree];
[Bride of Christ ELC]